And the winner is … Live analysis of the Denver debate

As the first presidential debate of the 2012 general election campaign unfolds, we’ll be offering you live analysis on this blog. Throughout the debate, Hearst Newspapers national political reporter Rick Dunham will offer commentary on the debate in real time.

First up will be three segments on the economy, followed by discussions of health care, the role of government and governing.

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Mitt Romney controlled the flow of the debate during its first segment. He framed the discussion of the economy and taxes by laying out what he called a five-point plan to fix the economy. He same up with a clever line by accusing Obama of favoring “trickle-down government.” He also took the offensive by claiming that Obama and other critics are wrong when they accuse him of proposing tax cuts for the rich.

“Virtually everything he said about my tax plan is inaccurate,” Romney said.

Obama found himself on the defensive. He also found himself noting areas where he agrees with Romney, such as small business tax cuts and increased domestic energy production.

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As the first segment continues far beyond its original time limit, Obama finds himself repeating himself. He has mentioned twice that he inherited the worst economic situation since the Great Depression.

Romney repeats himself, also. In case you didn’t get it, he believes that the president isn’t telling us the truth about his tax cut plans.

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Romney takes control of second segment from the beginning, notes that Obama promised to cut the deficit by half and instead has doubled it. He specifically pushes back against each of the major allegations made by the president.

One that will set fact-checkers abuzz: Romney’s claim that he’s never heard of tax breaks that encourage corporations to ship jobs overseas.

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President Obama gets his mojo back when the discussion turns to Social Security and Medicare. He explained concisely and powerfully how the Romney-Ryan Medicare plan would affect the long-term viability of the system.

Romney notes (twice) that his voucher plan for Medicare will not affect retirees or near retirees. If someone is over 60 years old, “you don’t need to listen any further,” he said.

Obama also seemed to loosen up and flash a bit of a sense of humor.

“I have become fond of this term ‘Obamacare,’” the president quipped.

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Obama also responded confidently to a question about financial regulation and the Dodd-Frank law enacted after the 2008 financial industry meltdown.

Romney, who has been the favorite of Wall Street donors this year, said he would repeal the law — as many financial industry leaders want. But he launched into a Democratic-style populist attack, calling it “the biggest kiss I’ve ever seen to New York banks.”

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Obamneycare is here!

The president lauded the Massachusetts law enacted by then-Gov. Romney.

Rather than back down, Romney explained the difference between Romneycare and Obamacare, starting with the bipartisan vote to adopt it and following up with the Massachusetts plan’s lack of any tax increase. He explained that the two laws illustrate the difference between his bipartisan approach to governing and Obama’s partisanship.

This is a case of Obama opening a door and Romney driving a truck through it.

Obama’s response was defensive: “We use the same advisers and they say it’s the same plan.”

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For the first time, Ronald Reagan’s name was invoked. After 62 minutes, Mitt Romney cited the Gipper as a model of bipartisanship. Romney also said Reagan laid out general principles and then worked with Democratic House Speaker Tip O’Neill to get things done.

Yes, the two men got along personally. But it’s not quite fair to say that they worked together very often.

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Romney seems to be getting under Obama’s skin when he talks about how he’ll be bipartisan — unlike the current president.

Obama snaps back that Romney will have trouble sitting down with Democrats when he repeals Obamacare on his first day in office.

Obama explained that he battled Republicans on financial reform and health care because each was “a fight that needed to be had.”

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In closing, Obama for the first time focused on the future and his second-term priorities. He notes that he predicted four years ago that he was an imperfect person and “that’s probably a promise that Gov. Romney thinks I have kept.”

Romney’s close invoked the words of his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. He referred to a “middle-class squeeze” and said it would be far worse “if the president were to be re-elected.” He says he’ll “get America’s middle class working again.”

All in all, Romney made the major points he was seeking to make. Obama was mostly on defense. No big mistakes. But the challenger definitely showed that he could hold his own with the incumbent.

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Missing from the debate: Bain Capital. The “47 percent.” Social issues such as abortion, gun control, same-sex marriage.